New International Version
2 Samuel 24:17
17When David saw the angel who was striking down the people, he said to the Lord, “I have sinned; I, the shepherd, have done wrong. These are but sheep. What have they done? Let your hand fall on me and my family.”
2 Samuel 24:17 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And David spake unto the Lord when he saw the angel that smote the people, and said, Lo, I have sinned, and I have done wickedly: but these sheep, what have they done? let thine hand, I pray thee, be against me, and against my father’s house.
- English Standard Version (ESV)Then David spoke to the Lord when he saw the angel who was striking the people, and said, "Behold, I have sinned, and I have done wickedly. But these sheep, what have they done? Please let your hand be against me and against my father's house."
- New King James Version (NKJV)Then David spoke to the Lord when he saw the angel who was striking the people, and said, “Surely I have sinned, and I have done wickedly; but these sheep, what have they done? Let Your hand, I pray, be against me and against my father’s house.”
- New Living Translation (NLT)When David saw the angel, he said to the Lord, “I am the one who has sinned and done wrong! But these people are as innocent as sheep—what have they done? Let your anger fall against me and my family.”
Context of 2 Samuel 24:17
15So the Lord sent a plague on Israel from that morning until the end of the time designated, and seventy thousand of the people from Dan to Beersheba died. 16When the angel stretched out his hand to destroy Jerusalem, the Lord relented concerning the disaster and said to the angel who was afflicting the people, “Enough! Withdraw your hand.” The angel of the Lord was then at the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite. When David saw the angel who was striking down the people, he said to the Lord, “I have sinned; I, the shepherd, have done wrong. These are but sheep. What have they done? Let your hand fall on me and my family.” 18On that day Gad went to David and said to him, “Go up and build an altar to the Lord on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.” 19So David went up, as the Lord had commanded through Gad.
Read all of 2 Samuel 242 Samuel 24:17 word by word
וַיֹּאמֶר֩ דָּוִ֨ד אֶל־יְהוָ֜ה בִּרְאֹת֣וֹ׀ אֶֽת־הַמַּלְאָ֣ךְ׀ הַמַּכֶּ֣ה בָעָ֗ם וַיֹּ֙אמֶר֙ הִנֵּ֨ה אָנֹכִ֤י הָֽרֹעֶה חָטָ֙אתִי֙ וְאָנֹכִ֣י הֶעֱוֵ֔יתִי וְאֵ֥לֶּה הַצֹּ֖אן מֶ֣ה עָשׂ֑וּ תְּהִ֨י נָ֥א יָדְךָ֛ בִּ֖י וּבְבֵ֥ית אָבִֽי׃ פRead the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- And Davidדָּוִדdâvid dâvîyd · DavidH1732
- spakeאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
- unto the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
- when he sawרָאָהrâ'âh · to see: seeH7200
- the angelמַלְאָךְmal'âk · messenger: angelH4397
- that smoteנָכָהnâkâh · to smiteH5221
- the peopleעַם‛am · peopleH5971
- Lo, I have sinnedחָטָאchâţâ' · to sinH2398
- and I have done wickedlyעָוָה‛âvâh · to pervertH5753
- but these sheepצֹאןtsô'n tse'ôn · flockH6629
- what have they doneעָשָׂה‛âώâh · to make: doH6213
- let thine handיָדyâd · handH3027
- I pray thee, be against me, and against my father’sאָב'âb · fatherH1
- houseבַּ֫יִתbayith · house: householdH1004
Cross-references for 2 Samuel 24:17
- 1 Chronicles 21:16David looked up and saw the angel of the Lord standing between heaven and earth, with a drawn sword in his hand extended over Jerusalem. Then David and the elders, clothed in sackcloth, fell facedown.
- 2 Samuel 24:10David was conscience-stricken after he had counted the fighting men, and he said to the Lord, “I have sinned greatly in what I have done. Now, Lord, I beg you, take away the guilt of your servant. I have done a very foolish thing.”
- Job 7:20If I have sinned, what have I done to you, you who see everything we do? Why have you made me your target? Have I become a burden to you?
- Job 42:6Therefore I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes.”
- Psalms 51:2Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.
- Isaiah 6:5“Woe to me!” I cried. “I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty.”
- 1 Kings 22:17Then Micaiah answered, “I saw all Israel scattered on the hills like sheep without a shepherd, and the Lord said, ‘These people have no master. Let each one go home in peace.’ ”
- Psalms 44:11You gave us up to be devoured like sheep and have scattered us among the nations.
- Psalms 74:1O God, why have you rejected us forever? Why does your anger smolder against the sheep of your pasture?
- Ezekiel 34:2“Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel; prophesy and say to them: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Woe to you shepherds of Israel who only take care of yourselves! Should not shepherds take care of the flock?
- Zechariah 13:7“Awake, sword, against my shepherd, against the man who is close to me!” declares the Lord Almighty. “Strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered, and I will turn my hand against the little ones.
- Genesis 44:33“Now then, please let your servant remain here as my lord’s slave in place of the boy, and let the boy return with his brothers.
- John 10:11“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.
- 1 Peter 2:24“He himself bore our sins” in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; “by his wounds you have been healed.”
Commentaries on 2 Samuel 24:17
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 17But these sheep, what have they done? - It seems that in the order of Providence there is no way of punishing kings in their regal capacity, but by afflictions on their land, in which the people must necessarily suffer. If the king, therefore, by his own personal offenses, in which the people can have no part, bring down God's judgments upon his people, (though they suffer innocently), grievous will be the account that he must give to God. The people…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 17Compare the passage in Chronicles. The account here is abridged; and 2 Samuel 24:18 has the appearance of being the original statement.Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 16-17Verses 16-17 Perhaps there was more wickedness, especially more pride, and that was the sin now chastised, in Jerusalem than elsewhere, therefore the hand of the destroyer is stretched out upon that city; but the Lord repented him of the evil, changed not his mind, but his way. In the very place where Abraham was stayed from slaying his son, this angel, by a like countermand, was stayed from destroying Jerusalem. It is for the sake of the great Sacrifice…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 17I, the shepherd, have sinned: Earlier, David confessed his sin only about his situation ("take away the iniquity of Your servant," 2 Samuel 24:10). Now, he prayed for those he thought were innocent (but see 2 Samuel 24:1) and offered to die for them. these sheep: David was the shepherd (a leader who guided, protected, and cared for the people) of Israel (see study note on 2 Samuel 7:8).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1717. David ... said--or, "had said," I have sinned ... but these sheep, what have they done?--The guilt of numbering the people lay exclusively with David. But in the body politic as well as natural, when the head suffers, all the members suffer along with it; and, besides, although David's sin was the immediate cause, the great increase of national offenses at this time had (2Sa 24:1) kindled the anger of the Lord.Read the comment
Topics related to 2 Samuel 24:17
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on 2 Samuel 24
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
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